Between lovers, between family or even between animals, a kiss can be a beautiful thing. These images from LIFE Magazine's archives prove it.

Sometimes you need a reason to give another person a kiss. And, as was the case in probably the most famous kissing photo of all time: the iconic picture of a World War II sailor kissing a nurse at the end of the war. But, other times, a kiss is its own reason to celebrate. Whatever you want to call it — a peck, a smooch, a snog — a kiss communicates love in a way that few other acts can match. How people started kissing is a mystery and why we do it is complicated, but, from a child's sweet kiss to a lover's sexy kiss, the act is a language of its own. And a photograph of a kiss, it follows, captures that feeling.

Here is a look back at 40 years of kisses from LIFE Magazine's archives of iconic 20th century photography.